Before I knew it, it was morning. Last night, I slept early, all my reasoning was shattered and to my surprise, Melinda was still going on observing the boy energetically, no wonder some people called her creepy when it comes to children.
"Last night he hugged the sword while sleeping. He must be lonely, let's just go and take him." She said standing up as if buying candy from a local store.
"What are you? crazy? you've gone insane haven't you? why don't you sleep a little, okay? I'll keep the watch."
At my retort she shrugged and kept watching again. Today also went like yesterday. He killed time-caching fishes and birds, and also sent a B-ranked monster running away. That too without using his sword. Actually, I haven't seen him fighting with his sword at all. It was a mystery.
That was our 3rd day watching him. Melinda only slept once in this time frame, that too because I threatened her to sleep.
Today the boy was lazing around more than usual, it seemed as though he was bored. He had already caught enough food for 2 days and ate it to his heart's content, so he had nothing to do.
Last night he looked at the stars. I felt that he was sad at the time. In These few days, I saw his toughness, quick thinking, clumsiness and childish behaviors which proved he was brilliant at surviving, someone who thinks out of the box and at the core still a child. Although this young boy was holding a catastrophe in his hands, he was unharmed by it. He didn't show any pressure which the cursed sword user exuded but rather he contained it within himself. Maybe in a few years, his controlling of this pressure would be so improved that nobody could think the cursed sword was nearby. Even if he walked past them.
Is he truly just a child or some other being? Can someone be at peace even when Wielding that sword?
As the boy was strolling around the place and went near the place where he had fought a formidable monster yesterday, suddenly a one-fanged snake attacked him. It was a monster that specialized at sneak attacks. It was at least 5 times the size of the boy and with quick succession, it spiraled itself around the boy. Only a second was needed for the snake to crush the boy's body, but before it could, I found myself slicing the monster apart... At some point, I was there to save him. My body just moved on its own.
I myself didn't know why this happened. It was like I was just about to lose someone precious to me.
Huh guess you win Melinda, I have already thought of protecting him….
When the snake around him fell of in pieces, the boy got out of them and looked at me. I too looked at him,, I didn't avert my eyes, it seems to me as though he was evaluating me. He didn't look too perturbed even by me suddenly appearing...
After a few seconds, he nodded at me as though he had accepted my help and was thankful. I really thought he would be much more surprised. His eyes were not surprised at what happened… Was he expecting me to come? Just what is this calmness that I can feel…?
He walked to the campsite and sat there beside his sword and sent a gesture towards me to sit. I sat opposite him and was thinking what should I say? I just wasn't prepared at all. He was just looking at me.
Why isn't he saying anything, is he afraid of me or something else?... No, I don't see him being cautious.
As thoughts such as these went through my mind, I suddenly thought where did Melinda go?
Maybe she is still observing... yes! Good job Melinda!
Such thoughts again passed through my mind but I was wrong. Suddenly I heard Melinda coming from behind me with a very excited expression. The boy was looking at her too.
I think I just saw him shrink a little seeing Melinda. Guess not even a child like him can ignore Melinda as just another passerby. Seeing his expression, I was relieved, he was definitely a normal child with human emotions.
"Hi !! there baby!! Look at you!! I know we are gonna get along so well! I swear I'll never let you go!!!"
High tension, that was the atmosphere that was becoming. Melinda passed me and went straight to the boy. I was sure that she was going to hug him but was it a good idea? won't he think of us as enemies? We don't even know what he viewed us as?!
I literally think he never saw any humans in his life, after looking at me, he looked at himself as if seeing the similarities in our bodies.
When Melinda started to get into his personal space, his hands reached for the cursed sword.
I was right, he is still wary of us. "Melinda stop! Someone who grew up in this hell would surely be cautious."
But Melinda was still going toward him with her same smile as before, and at that, the boy unsheathed the sword but he didn't swing it. He just kept its nose on the earth and fixed its position as if Melinda were to get closer to touch him, she would touch the sword first.
He was using the all powerful sword for self defense rather than attacking. All my doubts were cleared. He definitely wasn't influenced by the sword in any way, because he never showed any impulses for attacking. This was purely defense.
As I was evaluating such things, Melinda still wasn't stopping. She was going to hug him even if touching the cursed sword or she was sure of herself that the boy she chose as her grandson would definitely let his guard down for her.
The boy was panicking as well. For the first time in days, I saw this type of expression on his face. It was as if he couldn't fathom the mind he had just encountered. Well that should be expected because a man and woman's mind can be the earth and sky apart sometimes. Also he never met any other humans in his life, so his understanding should be very limited, as such Melinda's approach was surely out of his mind
Even my mind was getting overwhelmed, how can someone approach the cursed sword wielder like that?
The boy knew the sword presented danger, a single touch Cursed the enemy. That is what the sword is. But Melinda was not one to back out, as she rushed to the boy, her speed only increasing, the world seemed to slow down.
When I thought all but was lost, the boy thrusted the full sword in the earth and Melinda's hug knocked him to the ground.
... ...… ...….
"This is problematic. Melinda let him go at this moment!"
Melinda had got her hug and it was still going on. I was afraid she was going to kill the boy by suffocating him by squeezing him with her bosom.
"Why? Let me stay like this some more, don't you see he has accepted me?! It is time to connect, he smells good too… boy, even in the wilderness he sure takes care of his hygiene." She said not even looking at me. More than that, can you not smell a little boy with a look as vulgar as that!
"I am saying that because you will suffocate him to death if this happens any longer." I avoided Melinda's overly sensitive way to describe the boy.
Hearing me, she came to her senses and let him go. Melinda's bosom wasn't obsessive, it was just larger than the average but with her bear hug, it was enough to suffocate anyone let alone a small child.
"Oh noo! Merlin, he has fainted!!!!! bring some water fast!!" Melinda said with a concerning voice..
"I told you, didn't I?! now look what you did, he's going to hate you after waking up." I said as if to get her in control.
"Don't say such things, I am gonna become his world. Now go and fetch some water and go wash yourself, you stink, sheesh!" I was bewildered by her first comment but then I realized.
"What!? Wait, when did you get yourself cleaned...?"
"He he he what do you think? I will show myself to my grandson for the first time while stinking? You should learn from me, now go don't waste my precious time."
Hearing Melinda say that did remind me that the boy did observe me for quite a while…. he lived in this wilderness but he still looked like a young tidy boy, so I was sure he must be taking care of himself, so Maybe I was the only one that looked like trash! Oh my god! He only looked at me since I looked like trash?!
"Huuh! do what you want! I have already lost much of my reasoning." if this child did become our grandchild, I may become the incompetent one in his eyes… I should try to look dignified from now on, at least in front of him.
After saying that, I fetched her some water and went to the river to wash myself for a long while.
I left them alone because I was sure with time everything would calm down. I had gotten to see the boy's true self.
He was wary of Melinda but since she didn't show any bad intent, he had discarded his self defense at the last moment.
Of Course he was unsure of what would happen, for the first time in life, he had seen someone like him, a human. Until now he had lived among monsters and killed them to survive. Still, he hadn't lost the way to think as a human. He took a chance to accept us even if it would harm him.
"I vow to make him a man to whom the world would look at with admiration. He has shown me his pure heart, so it's my turn to mold it. Ha ha grandson huh, damn it feels great to say it." Maybe I was going too fast….
That's how we got a grandchild. It was one of the happiest moments in my life.
…..
After finding out that there were some people nearby from Amanori, I was really in a good mood.
So I tried to find a place nearby where anyone would want to stop and take a rest even for a little while.
The place I had chosen had a river nearby and also some good shade for making a good camping spot.
Yeah, that's what I am talking about.
I thought to myself after making my campsite. It could ideally be called a campsite by the river. Truly this was the first place I found in this world which could be called peaceful. I was sure there shouldn't be any rain, so I didn't set up a roof. After making a bonfire and digging out a hole for cooking purposes, I made a grill using the long bones of many monsters. These bones can easily withstand fire and are sturdy and light, perfect for making a portable grill. Not to mention, these were sharp so it was a good throwing weapon to pierce the eyes. As these also had poisonous properties in them, I was sure that if nothing else these bones could slow down the monster after I wounded them.
After making all my preparations, I saw that the light was already gone, so I didn't get to prepare any food for the night. As that was the case, I decided to eat some leftover fruits I had. They looked just like mangoes but to my surprise, it tasted totally different and didn't have any seeds in them. After living here this long, the foods that I found here all seemed rather edible. I still don't know if the outside world had better foods or not, but me getting used to the tastes here means it had been quite some time since I woke up in this world.
I spent my night eating fruits and looking at the cloudy sky. There were clouds but rain was nowhere to be seen. You could say these are the special characteristics of the Edge of the world.
Hey Amanori.
[What?]
Didn't you say I would meet people today? What happened to them?
[Hmm.. They must have run after seeing me.]
What?!
[Khu khu khu]
Don't joke like that!
For some time I had seen some changes in me. I am in the body of a boy that might be in his early teen years right now, but I am still hosting memories of at least 50 years, even if I forgot my memories from the 2nd life, I should have lived there 30 years at least. Even so, this body influenced a lot of my behavior.
That is why sometimes I can truly act like a child telling a lie and removing emotion. All those handy skills that people learn by living won't be useful in this body, I have to learn from scratch again. Also, I had a short fuse and was stubborn sometimes. Sometimes even I don't catch that I was being childish. That is the current form I am in.
[yeah yeah I get it, no matter how much you can control me or repel me, you are still just a child.]
grr ! Shut up! I won't polish you for a week!
[There you're acting like a child, okay I will bestow you with my wisdom.]
Hmm, what could it be this time?
As Amanori piqued my interest I had already forgotten about the anger I had. Truly a child through and through. Now even Amanori's nightmare like hell stories of how she killed thousands in one fight and destroyed a civilization and killing her every wielder was enough to entertain me. Being a modern citizen in my first life which was full of modern entertainment, this dreary world was like hell to me after all. More to the point, there weren't any girls whatsoever around me. Isn't the other world someplace where you get to meet girls, girls and girls?
[Now listen, one of my users had a ugly face and while wielding me, nobody even came to attack him, not even a monster. Some even died after seeing just his battle stance once. So he was very troubled, he couldn't fight anymore and torture was out of the question, people died just looking at him.]
What kind of sadistic story is that and what's it has to do with me?
[You don't get it, listen first and don't Interrupt me! sheesh you're just as evil aren't you? Interrupting someone when they are telling a story.]
How can that be considered evil? Your story is the one that's creepy.
[So he made delicious food wherever he went and slaughtered everyone he had lured in. It also worked for monsters, some still died seeing him but he was still able to get some kills with me in hand ahh! what good days they were!]
You? What do you want me to do then? I will never lure in people and just massacre them, hell no!!
[Yeah yeah you will come around soon too. So here's the wisdom: make good food soo the aroma can spread. I am sure even the evil god beast would come with your cooking.]
That's actually a good idea apart from the evil things you just mentioned but won't I be surrounded by monsters too? They also liked my cooking. Did you forget that time I had to sit on a tree and kill every monster with the fruits on that tree the whole night? I was glad that those fruits were hard as rocks.
[I can make you a territory now, so even if the aroma spreads, no one would come near the campsite.]
That's a great idea, wait but won't the people I want to come also won't come for that reason.
[I can take care of that, your small mind shouldn't have to worry about that.]
Hmm yeah I see. okay tomorrow I'll make a feast then and use the cooking spices I found till now. Although some of them are poisonous for the body of a normal human, I am sure the ones who are here are far from normal too.
That's how Amanori shares her dark past with me and my child's mind incorporates some wisdom from it. These past few months since I have made up with her, she has been opening up to me bit by bit. Anyway It seems I'll have to make a feast tomorrow. Hopefully God's predictions will be right and I'll find some reliable people in this world before getting into civilization.
As per plan, I cooked the next day and for the first time in a long while I was eating really good food. today's haul of catches were great and I also happened to find a bonus. After catching fish, some birds were trying to steal them so I hunted some birds too. As a result, I had a feast for at least 10 people but no one came even after my cooking was done, so I ate it all. This body could convert food to energy really fast and to my developing body it was even faster to absorb.
Well most of the credits go to the system, it makes everything usable. Even if I eat poison, it converts it into something else.
After the first day, I also cooked for the 2nd and 3rd day but nobody came. at the 4th night I was losing hope
Did something happen to them or did they run from me?
[...]
I thought Amanori wanted to say something to me but she didn't, so I watched the stars, for good or bad. The night was starry tonight, at some point I had fallen asleep and another day had begun.
There's nothing more lonely when you know that others are around but you are still alone.